HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS : Dameworth’s Solo Run Leads Agoura to Split

Bryan Dameworth was shocked by the way he ran at Wednesday’s double-dual nonleague high school cross-country meet between Agoura, Camarillo and Rio Mesa at St. John’s Seminary College in Camarillo.

“I’m surprised by my time,” the Agoura sophomore said. “Yesterday I felt terrible. I was tired and sluggish. Today I felt great.”

He looked fantastic.

Dameworth’s winning time of 14 minutes, 56 seconds destroyed the course record of 15:38. But his time will carry an asterisk because the course had been altered to avoid muddy areas.

Rio Mesa Coach Brian Fitzgerald measured the course afterward and said it was about 40 yards short of the standard three-mile distance.

“But he still would have beaten the previous record,” Fitzgerald said.

Dameworth, a sophomore, set the early pace with teammate Peter Oviatt and Camarillo’s Abe Valdez before surging to a small lead at the one-mile mark, which he covered in 5:10.

By two-miles (10:03) his lead had grown to 18 seconds and he doubled that advantage by the finish.

“I’ve been training very hard and I haven’t been getting enough sleep,” Dameworth said. “But today, I felt fine.”

So did Oviatt (15:33), who pulled away from Valdez (15:45) in the final mile to give Agoura a 1-2 finish.

Camarillo (2-0), however, used superior depth to defeat the Chargers, 25-31.

Shawn Goetzinger (16:05), Chad Malesich (16:21), Sean Faye (16:30) and Erik Counseller (16:46) placed fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth, respectively, for the Scorpions.

“They could be awesome this year,” Fitzgerald said of Camarillo. “I think they’re capable of beating Palos Verdes. They didn’t run that well as a team today but they still won easily.”

Camarillo Coach Mike Smith had no complaints.

“Overall, we ran like I thought we would,” he said. “Abe ran super.”

Camarillo, ranked fourth in the Southern Section’s 4-A poll, also defeated winless Rio Mesa, 16-45. Agoura (2-1), the third-ranked team in the 2-A Division, defeated Rio Mesa, 19-40.